I’m not Superman.

  Originallyposted:

 Grey Group Tranining Blog, "I'm Not Superman"

 

I'M NOT SUPERMAN

I’m not Superman.

Many days I fall into conversations at work about shooting. I have no Superman background, I don't belong to any secret handshake fraternity, I had a normal job as an Officer in the Military, a normal job downrange as a Contractor, and now I have a normal office job.  I do however have a passion for shooting. I love to shoot 3-Gun, IDPA, USPSA, Designated Marksmen and Sniper matches. If there is a shot timer and a course of fire involved I am there.

This weekend I shot Woody’s Designated Marksmen & Sniper match here in North Carolina. Somehow, my partner and I managed to finish 9th out of forty teams. To be truthful, my partner is a much better shooter than I am.  With my gas rifle turning into a single shot musket during the match I became a huge anchor, but I loved the match. I got on my scope, used my hold overs and worked my trigger. The second part of the match was done individually as a Sniper match, where I limped along with my single shot rifle.  The second day it’s fair to say I finished near the bottom in the standings for that match, oh well.

I guess if that was the only match I shot this month one could say I was not addicted to shooting, but no, it was the third large match in the last week.  Last weekend I shot the Tarheel 2-Gun tactical match. There were two divisions; tactical, where the competitor wore tactical equipment, in my case a plate carrier and helmet, and a competition division.  Lord knows I should have shot the competition division and stayed with my normal 3-Gun set up, but I saw this match as an opportunity to do something I do not normally get to do and clear shoot houses in kit.  I would like to think that the 30 or so people I did finish above asked themselves if they fell off the wall in their kit would they have gotten back up and completed a stage?  I did, and I finished.

The day after that match I attended the North Carolina Justice Academy's Charity Pistol Match at the Salemburg academy range complex. It was a pistol match set up by a couple of local IDPA clubs. Good part about the match; I was classified from stage standings in ‘master’ class division. The bad part was that I finished in the middle of the pack in master class and I will not be classified as a master in IDPA because it was a non-sanctioned match. I did enjoy the match because it had a unique mover I had not shot before.  The way it moved made me feel like it was going to run me over.  In the end I had fun shooting the match and helped work part of it.

In the past couple weeks I have competed as a tactical shooter, a gunslinger, a designated marksman and as part of a designated marksmen team.  I can honestly say I was not cut out to be any of these roles in real life.  Some time ago, my initial goal when I started shooting was to not get disqualified at a match.  I will never have a fireplace full of trophies.  I will never have a major firearms company sponsoring me to shoot matches. I am no Superman.

I am a person that measures my wins in minor gains in standings.  I am a person that wants to improve. My goals are a little bigger now, and I try not to blow a stage.  If I get through a match without having a major malfunction I call the match a win for me.  I am always thinking about the next match with my list of lessons learned and focus on the next time the timer goes off.  I’m not a Superman; I’m just a grey man always pushing, and fighting to win a match. Who are you?